School tops US News rankings for third consecutive year
By Keldine Hull
For the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) the number one public university in the country. The 2020 Best Colleges rankings were based on a variety of different factors including average ACT/SAT scores of admitted students, student- faculty ratios, graduation rates and figures on post-graduate employment.
UCLA placed ahead of five other University of California schools in the top 10 including UC Berkley (2nd place), UC Santa Barbara (7th place), UC Irvine (9th place) and UC San Diego (10th place).
“We are thrilled to once again be ranked the nation’s top public university, particularly as we celebrate our first 100 years,” said Chancellor Gene Block in a UCLA news release. “Even as UCLA becomes more competitive, we work hard to remain accessible to exceptional students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds who will help ensure our continued success in UCLA’s second century.”
UCLA also excelled in category-specific rankings published as part of the report. UCLA was ranked No. 1 for economic diversity among the top 25 universities, based on the number of undergraduate students receiving Pell Grants (36 percent at UCLA).
In addition, UCLA also was ranked number 20 among all private and public institutions, the youngest out of the 33 schools ranked and number one in economic diversity among 25 schools. With 572 members of the military enrolled in the 2018-2019 academic school year, UCLA also ranked number one in Best Colleges for Veterans.
The publication’s methodology includes factors that tend to favor private universities, such as endowment size, rate of alumni giving and student-faculty ratio. It also includes data related to academic reputation, student excellence and student retention and graduation rates, with a particular interest in students from lower income households.
To learn more, visit: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public
